Fixed-barrel automatic pistol having a stopping device for the carriage

ABSTRACT

AND BOLT FROM THE FRAME CAN NEVER OCCUR, EVEN IN THE PRESENCE OF THE USUAL SHOCKS DUE TO FIRING. A STOPPING DEVICE FOR THE BOLT AND CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY OF A FIXED-BARREL AUTOMATIC PISTOL IS DISCLOSED, IN WHICH LATCHING MEANS ARE PROVIDED TO PREVENT THE ACCIDENTAL DISASSEMBLY OF THE AUTOMATIC PISTOL WHEN THIS IS FIRED. DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF A LATCH WHICH CAN BE ROTATED ABOUT A FIXED PIN, A MANIPULATION IS NECESSARY, AND CANNOT BE DISPENSED WITH, FOR SEPARATING THE CARRIAGE AND BOLT ASSEMBLY FROM THE PISTOL FRAME. THE DISENGAGEMENT OF THE CARRIAGE

Nov. 16, 1971 P. c. BERETTA FIXED-BARREL AUTOMATIC PISTOL HAVING ASTOPPING DEVICE FOR THE CARRIAGI 4 Shoots--Sheot 1 Filed April 21, 1970Nov. 16, 1971 BERETTA 3,620,125

l"IXI'lL)l5Al REL AUTOMATIC PISTOL HAVING A STOPPING DEVICE FOR THECARRIAGE Filed April 21, 1970 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l c (f Carl fifl'l' az 3INVENTOR.

Nov. 16, 1971 P. c. BERETTA FIXED-BARREL AUTOMATIC PISTOL HAVING ASTOPPING DEVICE FOR THE GARRIAGF 4 Sheets-Shoot :5

Filed April 21, 1970 Car Carla $0 1 INVI'IN'I'OR.

@v. 16, 1971 c BERETTA 3 ,620,125

FIXED-BARREL AUTOMATIC PISTOL HAVING A STOPPING DEVICE FOR THE CARRIAGEFiled April 21, 11:70 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 I I I Y i l I II I Li 1 w F 'ii37 INVENTOR.

A rnvv United States Patent @tfice 3,620,125 Patented Nov. 16, 1971FIXED-BARREL AUTOMATIC IISTUI. HAVING A STOPPING DEVICE FOR THE CARRIAGEPier Carlo Beretta, Gardone Val Trompia, Italy, assignor to I.Beretta-Armi-Roma S.p.A., Rome, Italy Filed Apr. 21, 1970, Ser. No.30,383 Int. Cl. F416! 11/00 US. Cl. 89-196 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A stopping device for the bolt and carriage assembly of afixed-barrel automatic pistol is disclosed, in which latching means areprovided to prevent the accidental disassembly of the automatic pistolwhen this is fired. Due to the presence of a latch which can be rotatedabout a fixed pin, a manipulation is necessary, and cannot be dispensedwith, for separating the carriage and bolt assembly from the pistolframe. The disengagement of the carriage and bolt from the frame cannever occur, even in the presence of the usual shocks due to firing.

This invention relates to a fixed-barrel automatic pistol and, moreparticularly, a device for stopping, in pistol of the kind referred toabove, the carriage and bolt assembly at the end of the backward strokethereof so as prevent an accidental disassembling of the weapon duringoperation.

As is known, in automatic pistols having a fixed barrel, the carriageand bolt assembly is usually slidably connected to the frame by means ofribs situated in the rear portion of the carriage and which engagecorresponding way formed on the frame. When the pistol is disassembled,in order to disengage the carriage and bolt assembly from the frame, abackward sliding motion of the carriage is required until disengagingthe ribs aforementioned from the ways, whereupon the carriage and boltassembly can be suitably tilted and slipped out of the barrel. It isobvious that, during the operation of the weapon, the disengagement ofthe ribs of the carriage and bolt assembly from the frame should beprevented. To this purpose the prior art uses two kinds of systems:

(a) A vertically slidable latch is provided, which can be shifted from afirst position, wherein it projects during the backward stroke of thecarriage thus preventing the ribs thereof from being disengaged from thesliding ways of the frame, to a second position wherein the backwardsliding of the carriage is unhindered so that its ribs can be cleared ofthe sliding Ways or guideways. The latch is usually and snappinglyactuable from outside towards either of the two positions.

(b) The trigger-guard is hingedly conected to the rear portion of theframe, that is, to the part which is closer to the pistol handle,whereas the front portion of the trigger guard has a projection which,when the pistol is in the firing position, has the same operability ofthe latch mentioned in (a) above, thus preventing the carriage frombeing slid out of the frame. The trigger guard is retained in its closedposition by a spring.

Both systems, however, are impaired by a serious drawback. As a matterof fact, during the return stroke of the carriage and bolt assembly,immediately after firing, the vigorous shock of the rear end of thecarriage against the spreader, formed by the vertically sliding latch inthe case of (a), or by the projection borne by the trigger guard in thecase of (b), can cause the same to be displaced from the position inwhich it would prevent the completion of the backward stroke of thecarriage. Consequently, a partial disassembly of the weapon could takeplace, the weapon would jam and also become a source of danger for theuser.

The principal object of the present invention is to provlde a stoppingdevice, fixed and of a mechanical nature, which is capable of impendingthe disengagement of the carriage and bolt assembly from the pistolframe during the normal operation of the weapon.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanicalstopping mechanism in which any shock imparted to the spreader by thereturn stroke of the carriage and bolt assembly immediately after afiring, could in no wise remove the spreader from the position in whichit prevents the disengagement of the carriage and bolt assembly from theframe.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanical stoppingdevice in which, in order to carry out the disassembly of the carriageand the bolt from the frame, a manual operation is necessary, absolutelyextraneous to the usual movements and the usual stresses of the carriageand bolt assembly when the weapon is in its operating conditions.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved bya mechanical stopping device for fixed barrel automatic pistols of thekind comprising a frame, a barrel fixedly mounted on the frame, acarraige and bolt assembly slidable on the frame along the fixed barrelby means of a sliding coupling between ribs formed laterally on theinner surface of the carriage and bolt and ways or grooves formedcorrespondingly on the outer surface of the frame, said stopping devicefor the backward stroke of the carriage and bolt being formed by a latchconected to the frame by a fixed pin passed through an arcuate slotformed in the central portion of the latch, so that the latch can berotated about said pin and shifted perpendicularly to the pin through adistance equal at the most to the length of the slot, the latch havingin its rear portion a projection or heel adapted to project into thepath of the backward stroke of the carriage and bolt assembly, the latchbeing movable between a first closed position wherein said heel restsagainst a step formed in the frame and projects into the path of thebackward stroke of the carriage and bolt assembly while the re mainingportion of the upper surface of the latch is flush with the plane ofsliding of the carriage and bolt on the frame, and a second position,opening position, wherein said heel does not project into the path ofthe carriage and bolt assembly and the front end of the latch projectsabove the plane of sliding of the bolt and carriage assembly withouthindering the backward stroke thereof, resilient means being providedwhich urge the latch towards said first closure position, the latchhaving in its front portion manual gripping means for displacing againstthe bias of said resilient means the latch from said first position tosaid second position.

Substantially, thus the stopping device according to the presentinvention provides a latch having a stable closure position in which itprevents the carriage and bolt assembly from being disengaged from theframe, and any shock applied against the heel is discharged through theattendant step of the frame, and an unstable opening position to whichthe latch itself is brought against the bias of the resilient means(that is a spring) and by effecting a forward motion (that is in adirection opposite to the backward stroke of the carriage and boltassembly) and a rotation of the latch.

Objects and advantages of the present invention will become more clearlyapparent from the ensuing description, given by way of example andwithout limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an automatic,fixed-barrel pistol having the stopping device of the present inventionin the closed position, that is when the weapon is in the firingposition.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the stopping device in the openposition.

FIG. 4 is a plan view from top of the stopping device as mounted on thepistol frame.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, of the stopping device in the openposition.

Having initial reference to 'FIGS. 1 and 2, an automatic pistol isshown, which comprises, as conventional component parts, a frame,generally indicated at 10, the frame comprising, in turn, a butt orhandle 11, a trigger guard 13 which houses a trigger 12, and a portion14 in which the fixed barrel 15 is mounted. About the barrel 15 acarriage and bolt assembly is mounted, generally indicated at 17, assubjected to the bias of the compression spring 16 wound about thebarrel 15.

As is well known, during the operation of pistols of the kind referredto herein, after each firing the carriage and bolt assembly 17 shouldcarry out a backward stroke (i.e. towards the right as viewed in FIG. 1)and, to this end, the engagement is provided between the side ribs 18 asformed internally of the carriage and bolt assembly 17 and the ways orgrooves 19 correspondingly formed on the frame 10.

Considering now FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 in detail, the carriage. and boltassembly 17 has on its front portion an abutment surface 20 and anappropriately inclined surface 21. The frame in turn, has an abutment22. Beneath the abutment 22 of the frame 10 a cavity 23 is formed whoserear end has a semicircular groove 24 (FIG. 4) fitted with a step 25whose outline corresponds to that of the semicircular groove aforesaid.

The cavity 23 houses the stopping device according to the presentinvention, which comprises a latch 26, pivoted by means of the pin ordowel 27 to the frame 10 and capable of being rotated about the dowel.The dowel 27 passes through a bore or slot 28 having such a size as topermit the displacement of the latch 26 along an axis which isperpendicular to the dowel 27 and through a distance which will beexactly defined in the ensuing description.

Internally of the latch 26 a blind longitudinal hole 29 is formed, tohouse in a sliding relationship a plunger 30: the latter urges the dowel27 due to the bias of a compression spring 31.

The latch 26 carries at its rear end (FIG. 4) a radiused heel 32 whichprojects out of the top surface 33 of the latch and is adapted to have aseat in the cavity defined by the hollow space 24 and the step 25 of theframe 10. Through the rear surface of the heel 32 a notch 34 is formed.Lastly, the front portion of the latch 26 has two lateral knurledprotrusions 35, in correspondence with which the frame 10 has, formedtherein, appropriate hollow spaces 36 to permit the grasping of thelatch 26 in order that the stopping device may be actuated.

As already mentioned, after each firing, the carriage and bolt assembly17 carries out a backward stroke so that, the firearm being in theposition of FIG. 1, that is with the stopping device in the conditionsof FIG. 5, the abutment surface 20 of the carriage 17 goes intoengagement with the front surface of the heel 32. As a result, inasmuchas the abutment surface 20 cannot reach the abutment 22, the ribs 18cannot be wholly disengaged from the grooves 19 and thus the carriageand bolt assembly is slidably servoed to the frame without being allowedto become disassembled spontaneously, thus originating a jam.

It is important to observe that, irrespective of the force with whichthe abutment surface 20 strikes the front face 37 of the heel 32, thelatter can never be lowered since it is housed in the seat defined bythe hollow space 4 24 and step 25 and retained therein by the bias ofthe spring 31.

Whenever it is desired to overhaul the weapon, for example for theroutine upkeep, the stopping device should be disengaged, at the outset,as follows:

The two projections 35 are. grasped and the latch is pulled forwardagainst the bias of the spring 31 until bringing the rear end of theslot 28 to contact the dowel 27. At this stage the bottom portion of theheel 32 is cleared of the step 25, and the whole latch 26 can be rotatedabout the dowel 27 until reaching the position of FIG. 6. Moreparticularly, it should be observed that also the condition shown inFIG. 6 for the latch 26 is a partially stable position, inasmuch as thenotch 34 engages the edge of the step 25, thus preventing thespontaneous return of the latch to the position of FIG. 5.

At this stage the abutment 20 of the carriage 17 can go back untilengaging the abutment 22 and, as a result, the ribs 18 are wholly clearof the ways or grooves 19 and the carriage and bolt assembly 17 can beslightly tilted (as far as the sloping surface 21 permits) and slippedin front of the barrel 15.

When it is desired to restore the automatic pistol to its operativeposition, it suffices that the carriage and bolt assembly is reassembledby slipping it over the barrel 15 and bringing the abutment surface 20to contact the abutment 22. Then, the ribs 18 are matched with the ways19 again and the carriage and bolt assembly 17 is slid forwards (towardsthe left as viewed in FIG. 3) until the position of FIG. 1 is reached.By virtue of this sliding movement, the bottom portion of the carriage17 engages the still lifted front portion (FIGS. 3 and 6) of the latch26 causing said portion to rotate about the dowel 27 until reaching thehorizontal position. At this stage, due to the bias of the spring 31,the latch 26 resumes the normal position of FIG. 4.

It is important to notice that, by so doing, the automatic return of thestopping device to its operative position is warranted immediately onreassembling the weapon, and no danger of jamming or spontaneousdisassembly being present as caused by the latch 26 missing its returnto the closed position.

It should also be mentioned, lastly, that the front portion of the latchhas a nail groove 37 which encourages the return sliding stroke of thecarriage and bolt assembly.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A mechanical stopping device for the carriage and bolt assembly of afixed-barrel automatic pistol of the kind comprising a frame, a barrelfixedly mounted on the frame, a carriage and bolt assembly slidable onthe frame along the fixed barrel by means of a sliding coupling betweenribs formed laterally on the inner surface of the carriage and bolt andways or grooves formed correspondingly on the outer surface of theframe, said stopping device for the backward stroke of the carriage andbolt being formed by a latch connected to the frame by a fixed pinpassed through an arcuate slot formed in the central portion of thelatch, so that the latch can be rotated about said pin and shiftedperpendicularly to the pin through a distance equal at the most to thelength of the slot, the latch having in its rear portion a projection orheel adapted to project into the path of the backward stroke of thecarriage and bolt assembly, the latch being movable between a firstclosed position wherein said heel rests against a step formed in theframe and projects into the path of the backward stroke of the carriageand bolt assembly in such a position that the ribs remain slidablyengaged with said grooves, while the remaining portion of the uppersurface of the latch is flush with the plane of sliding of the carriageand bolt on the frame, and a second position, opening position, whereinsaid heel does not project into the path of the carriage and boltassembly and the front end of the latch projects above the plane ofsliding of the bolt and carriage assembly resilient means being providedwhich urge the latch towards said first closure position, the latchhaving in its front portion manual gripping means for displacing againstthe bias of said resilient means the latch from said first position tosaid second position.

2. A stopping device according to claim 1, wherein said step formed inthe frame together with a hollow space in the same frame define a seatfor the correspondingly shaped rear portion of the heel; said rearportion being fitted with a notch which, in said second position of thelatch engages the edge of said step.

3. A stopping device according to claim 1, wherein said manual grippingmeans in said latch consist of two knurled Wings.

4. A stopping device according to claim 1, in which said resilient meansare formed by a coil spring housed in a blind hole formed internally ofthe latch and perpendicularly to the axis of said fixed pin, said springhaving a first end which urges against said blind hole bottom wall and asecond end which urges said fixed pin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 935,952 10/1909 Becker 89-196991,398 5/1911 Walther 89-496 SAMUEL FEINBERG, Primary Examiner S. C.BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION Patent No. 3620125 Dated NOV. 16, m1

Inventor(s) Pier Carlo Beretta It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

In the heading of this patent, column 1, after Filed Apr. 21, 1970, Ser.No. 30383 insert:

Claims priority, application Italy, April 29, 1969 Signed and sealedthis 9th day of May 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER, JR. ROBERT GOT'ISCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents )RM PO-10 0 (10- uscoMM-Dc we're-Pee 9 U S. GOVERNHENYPRINTING OFFICE I ill. C -lll-SII

